Amosun’s aide flays LP

FORMER Governor Gbenga Daniel’s faction of Ogun State Labour Party (LP) has been condemned over its criticism of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s interactive session with civil servants.

A spokesperson of the factional LP in a statement, claimed that the meeting was designed to deceive the civil servants as well as a reaction to the Ekiti governorship election.

But the Special Assistant to Amosun on Print Media, Olusola Balogun, yesterday, dismissed the factional LP.

Balogun said the meeting, which was part of activities to mark the 2014 Civil Service Week, was not a reaction, but Amosun’s way of showing affection for the civil servants and addressing issues that borders on workers’ welfare.

“If this factional spokesman was well informed, he would have been told that the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, explained in her opening speech at the beginning of the event, tagged: ‘A day with the governor,’ that the event was postponed by seven days due to certain work schedules that involves both the governor and top civil servants in the state.

“In fact, I still remember that Mrs. Adekunle told the packed hall at the June12 Cultural Centre, that she had to put a call to someone in Abeokuta to cancel the event when she realised that she and her team of top civil servants on the entourage of the governor could not make it back to Abeokuta before 4p.m. The governor also corroborated her position when he took to the podium.

“One then wonder where the Labour Party guy got the idea that the event was a reaction to an unrelated event in far away Ekiti,” Balogun argued.

The governor’s aide maintained that Amosun, from his first week in office, left no one in doubt about his sincerity and desire to correct the wrongs and abnormalities foisted on the state by some people now masquerading as modern-day advocates of workers’ welfare.

“I am sure workers in the state civil service too would readily attest that Governor Amosun prioritised their welfare. He ensures nothing impedes the payment of their salary and allowances even when the Federal Government defaulted in the release of statutory allocation to states.

“But my joy is that the highly articulated Ogun civil servants are not deceived by this unsolicited advocacy from Labour Party. They know who their friends are,” Balogun said.

The aide also slammed the criticism of the governor’s promise to re-start the car and housing loan schemes.

“I am not surprised the Labour Party man was at sea on where the funding for car and housing loans would come from. They deserve our sympathy though. They deserve our sympathy because of their hollow intellectual capacity, which cannot accommodate anything developmental,” he added.